LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian snag a bucolic bargain

Which celebrity made an usually fast sale for the above $10-million market? What should Mischa Barton be asking for rent? Guest Drew de la Houssaye of the Brokerage Real Estate Group in Beverly Hills weighs in. (Photos courtesy of Realtor.com)

Which celebrity made an usually fast sale for the above $10-million market? What should Mischa Barton be asking for rent? Guest Drew de la Houssaye of the Brokerage Real Estate Group in Beverly Hills weighs in. (Photos courtesy of Realtor.com)

Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

Country singing star LeAnn Rimes and her husband, actor Eddie Cibrian, know a bargain when they see one. The pair spent $3 million behind the gates in bucolic Hidden Hills on a house marketed as a short sale that once sold for $5.575 million.

The Spanish-style house, built in 2005, sits on nearly 2 acres with a swimming pool, a guesthouse and a barbecue center off a covered patio. Features include beamed ceilings, an arched window in the dining room, a central staircase with Spanish-tile accents, a den, an office, six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, 8,642 square feet of living space and a four-car garage.

Rimes, 30, won Grammys for her album "Blue" and as best new artist in 1996. She performed on the soundtracks for "Coyote Ugly" (2000) and "Evan Almighty" (2007). Her latest studio album is "Lady & Gentlemen." "Spitfire" is due out this spring.

Cibrian, 39, had recurring roles in the 2009-10 seasons of "CSI: Miami" and "Ugly Betty" (2008). The pair costarred in the TV movie "Northern Lights" (2009).

Alex Galuz of Crescent Realty Corp. handled the transaction, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Manse includes celeb landlady

Actress and model Mischa Barton is looking for a new tenant for her gated Beverly Hills Crest-area compound, listed at $35,000 a month.

The main house and three separate guest quarters have six fireplaces, eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 9,800 square feet of living space. The 1.2 acres include a swimming pool and spa.

Barton, 27, starred in "The Beautiful Life" (2009) and "The O.C." (2003-06). Her films include "Don't Fade Away" (2010), "A Resurrection" (2012) and the upcoming drama "Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain."

Joseph Babajian of Rodeo Realty and Mitra Sisatar of Coldwell Banker's Beverly Hills North office have the listing.

No more Messing around

Debra Messing, who stars on the TV series "Smash," set on Broadway, has sold her house in Bel-Air in a month for $11.4 million.

The traditional-style house, designed by architect Paul R. Williams and built in 1937, features bay windows, updated interiors, a den, a bar, a gym, four fireplaces, six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in 6,400 square feet. The more than half-acre gated property, sheltered by tall hedges, includes a swimming pool, a cabana and a brick driveway.

Messing bought the property from actress Renee Zellweger in 2003 for $7 million, public records show.

The 44-year-old actress costarred on the sitcom "Will & Grace" (1998-2006) and the mini-series "The Starter Wife" (2007). The NBC musical drama in which she now stars is in its second season.

Producer-director Bud Yorkin and his wife, actress Cynthia Sikes, have sold their estate in the Beverly Crest area for $19.5 million.

The gated traditional home, built in 1938, has five bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms and about 10,528 square feet of living space. Features include a main hall with a sweeping staircase, a 60-foot-long living room with a sunken bar, a wood-paneled study and a projection room. The nearly 2 acres of grounds include a tennis court, a swimming pool, lawn, fountains and rose gardens.

The Emmy Award-winning Yorkin, 87, co-founded Tandem Productions with Norman Lear in the early 1960s. The company produced such hit shows as "All in the Family" (1971-79) and "Sanford and Son" (1972-77), for which Yorkin was executive producer and a director.

Sikes, 59, has appeared on "The Young and the Restless" (2008) and "JAG" (2000-01), among other shows and films, and had a starring role on "St. Elsewhere" (1982-85).

The house, which epitomizes 1930s Hollywood, was built by gangster Bugsy Siegel, but he never lived there. Cosmetics mogul Max Factor was among later owners.

Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency was the listing agent. Susan Smith of Hilton & Hyland represented the buyer, who has listed the property for lease at $99,000 a month. Smith and Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland have the lease listing.

Composer's onetime house for sale

A former home of composer Marvin Hamlisch is on the market in Hollywood Hills West for $1.749 million or for lease at $8,000 a month.

Built in 1963, the Midcentury Modern-style house features an updated kitchen, three bedrooms, three bathrooms and 2,555 square feet of living space. Flagstone paving surrounds the swimming pool.

Hamlisch, who died last year at 68, won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony for the 1975 Broadway hit "A Chorus Line" and Academy Awards for "The Way We Were" and "The Sting." He sold the house in 2007 for $1.2 million to the current owner.

Mica Rabineau and Josh Goldstein of Nourmand & Associates are the listing agents.

Exclusive: We scoop TMZ

You won't read this at TMZ, but mastermind Harvey Levin has listed his ultra-private retreat in Hollywood Hills West for $5.3 million.

The nearly 3,000-square-foot Spanish-style home has some appropriate features for the founder of a celebrity news website: gates and hedges that ensure no one is "looking in" from above, according to the Multiple Listing Service post.

Amenities include a two-story step-down living room, an office, three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a partially finished basement. A swimming pool and spa, lawn and flagstone patio area are outdoors.

Rich in architectural detail, the turnkey house has been listed for lease for as much as $20,000 a month during Levin's ownership. Public records show he bought the house in 1998 for $950,000.